Marion County prosecutors have dropped a felony murder charge against Eron Bonner, 18, who was accused of fatally shooting a 16-year-old, Monquize Edwards, after a Downtown Indianapolis fireworks show on July 4, 2013.
(Photo:
Provided by IMPD.
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Robinson declined to elaborate but the charging documents at the time noted that several people were near the shooting and one witness "saw Eron Bonner make a gun-drawing motion, then saw a muzzle flash, and then saw Monzique Edwards had been shot."

It was unknown whether that particular witness had stopped cooperating.

Monquize Edwards, 16, of Indianapolis, was fatally shot near Meridian and Maryland streets at about 11:30 p.m. on July 4, 2013.(Photo: Provided by the family.)

Bonner has been held without bond in the Marion County Jail since his arrest. A jail representative said Saturday that he was still there, although the murder charge was dropped. He also is being held without bond for robbery, criminal gang activity and false reporting. A $500 bond still stands for a charge of battery with injury.

Police said Edwards and Bonner were members of rival gangs and exchanged gang-related taunts before the slaying. A video surveillance camera captured the two and their peers facing off. After Edwards was shot, a crowd of about 50 onlookers scattered.

Indianapolis Public Safety Director Troy Riggs said the case points out the difficulty of getting witnesses to come forward and retaining them through the course of a trial.

"It's a real challenge, it's dispiriting," Riggs said. "A lot of detectives put in a lot of hours on this case."

The problem is so bad, Riggs said, that 40 percent of the people who get shot and live refuse to cooperate with police or tell them who shot them.

The result is that the victims retaliate.

"This is the impetus for additional street violence, when people take the law into their own hands and seek 'street justice,' " Riggs said.

Other witnesses are just afraid, even if there is a good chance the perpetrator will be convicted.

"They know that a lot of times they are going to get out of prison eventually and very likely come back on that same street," Riggs said.

The Rev. Charles Harrison, who heads the Indianapolis-based anti-violence organization, the Ten Point Coalition, said the dropping of the Bonner murder charge makes his job more complicated.

"This makes it difficult for us to tell these young men or victims to let the justice system work its course," Harrison said. Ten Point outreach workers go to shooting scenes to tamp down retaliation and encourage witnesses to provide information to detectives.

Harrison said gang members have been known to try to intimate witnesses into not cooperating with police, though officials would not comment on whether that was the case with the Bonner prosecution.

"If they can intimidate witnesses they can get away with murder," Harrison said.

The shooting happened outside Circle Centre Mall, near Illinois and Maryland streets, at about 11:30 p.m. and only feet away from police officers who were working crowd control during the busy holiday.

Though video cameras showed Bonner and Edwards exchanging words, the shooting is obscured.

Police released still-frame photos from the camera of several people at the intersection. When Bonner saw his image on television, he came into the IMPD homicide office. He acknowledged being at the scene but said he was not involved.

"Eron Bonner claimed that he heard a shot in the area, but didn't see anything," according to the probable cause affidavit. "Eron Bonner denied having any sort of confrontation with anyone."

Riggs said the case still will be pursued.

"We're just back to square one, I guess," he said.

For more information call John Tuohy at 444-6418 and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.